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Jerusalem
Jerusalem
Monday, December 23, 2013
Continued ....
Third Day of my Holy Land Trip, Jerusalem
My Holy Land Trip
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| Hotel Ararat, Bethlehem, View from our bus, Monday, December 23, 2013, 8.06 AM |
An
octagon chapel on Mt Olives built over ancient structures. According to
tradition, this sacred site is where Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after
resurrection.
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Seen
on the way to the
Dome of the Ascension (Chapel of Ascension)
Mount Olive
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| City of Jerusalem
Jerusalem - According to the Bible, before King David's conquest of Jerusalem in the 11th century BCE the city was home to the Jebusites. The Bible describes the city as heavily fortified with a strong city wall. The city ruled by King David, known as Ir David, or the City of David, was southwest of the Old City walls, outside the Dung Gate. His son King Solomon extended the city walls and then, in about 440 BCE, during the Persian period, Nehemiah returned from Babylon and rebuilt them. In 41-44 CE, Agrippa, king of Judea, built a new city wall known as the "Third Wall."
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| Near to Jaffa Gate, City of Jerusalem |
Mar Elias Monastery, Bethlehem
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Mar Elias Monastery, Bethlehem
This
Greek Orthodox Monastery stands like a fortress on a hill from which both
Jerusalem and Bethlehem can be seen. Mar Elias Monastery is located 5 km to the
north of Bethlehem on the way to Jerusalem, and was founded in the 6th century
AD and rebuilt by the Emperor Manual Communes in 1160.
Legend has it that the building stands on the site where
prophet rested on his flight from the Vengeance of Queen Jezebel, who was
seeking vengeance after Elijah slaughtered the priests of Baal (1 Kings 19:15).
Another tradition holds that Greek Bishop Elias of Bethlehem was buried here in
1345, and another holds that it places the sepulcher of St. Elias, an Egyptian
monk who became Patriarch of Jerusalem in 494.
Mar Elias is believed to answer the prayers of barren
women and ailing children. From the monastery, Bethlehem can be seen to the south, Herodion to the southeast and sometimes the Dead Sea across the valley to the east.
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| Back side of the Mar Elias Monastery, on the side of the road from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, |
Dome of the Ascension
The original
building was surrounded by a double portico forming a circle. Destroyed by the
Persians in the 614, it was rebuilt by the Crusaders in the form of a small,
octagonal temple (twelfth century).
Having come under the control of Muslims, to
whom it has belonged since the thirteenth century, the building was converted
into a mosque and completely transformed by walling in the arches and roofing
over the octagon with a little dome of evident Islamic character.
This admirable building blends the
architectural features of the Crusader style with traits belonging to the
Muslim tradition. The chapel rises on the site of an ancient paleo-Christian
sanctuary, near the top of the Mount of Olives.
The ruins
of the chapel is located in the suburb of A-Tur, on the east side of the main
road of the top of Mount of Olives, at 830M above sea level.
Near the
Ascension chapel is the Russian Orthodox Church of the Ascension, which is
another traditional site of the ascension. It is located near a tall tower
inside the village of A-Tur
The original
building was surrounded by a double portico forming a circle. Destroyed by the
Persians in the 614, it was rebuilt by the Crusaders in the form of a small,
octagonal temple (twelfth century).
Having come under the control of Muslims, to
whom it has belonged since the thirteenth century, the building was converted
into a mosque and completely transformed by walling in the arches and roofing
over the octagon with a little dome of evident Islamic character.
On a rock inside can be seen
a footprint which is identified according to Christian tradition as the print
that Jesus left as he ascended to Heaven: "And he led them out as
far as to Bethany, and he lifted
up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he
was parted from them, and carried up into heaven"
(Luke, 24 50-51).
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| Footprint print of Jesus |
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Footprint print of Jesus
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